Just to clarify something you said: you cannot use a Synology as a DAS. The eSATA and USB ports on Synology units are slave only. So you could attach an external USB-drive to a Synology unit, and copy files from that to the Synology, but you cannot connect your PC via USB, for example. Well technically you can of course, but nothing would happen. The only way to access a Synology unit is via network.

As far as I know, the only NAS that supports doing just that, e.g. use it as a DAS via USB (or Thunderbolt) are some (expensive) Qnap models.

I've tried pretty much everything, and I still get dips now and then, especially when things get "busy" on screen. It's likely engine limitations causing bottlenecks, not hardware.

For reference, I'm running on a 4.9Ghz i8700K with 64GB of 3600MHz RAM and a 1080Ti. I've run the entire game off a RAM-drive to eliminate asset loading and while it helps a little, it is no cure-all like some suggest. The game performs similarly when running off an SSD. Overclocking the CPU and/or GPU further makes no noticeable difference except raising the peak fps slightly, but that was never the problem to begin with. I've run at 2560x1440 @ 165Hz and it does run well most of the time but like everyone else I'm getting anything from minor to severe frame drops when things get very busy. It's a G-Sync display but still it's stuttering noticeably sometimes, probably because the FPS varies so rapidly. My second monitor is a 4K display @ 60Hz and I've similar issues there. All settings are at max but lowering them makes little to no difference.

My best guess is that either the server or the client-server cannot successfully deliver a steady 60+ fps at all times no matter what the client hardware is, thus causing frame time delays. I had a much lower spec PC before and the trend was very similar (6700k with 980Ti graphics). Sure, the peak fps was lower on the old PC, but the feel was pretty much the same, with similar fps drops.

The smoothest results I've had so far is capping the fps to 100-120 and run it on the 1440 display. Somehow the engine doesn't seem to like when the frame rate gets too high, and I'm guessing it's because the server just can't keep up with the calculations required and you get a stuttery experience as a result. The game client itself is certainly more than capable and can crank out some 900+ fps when no math is required (like running around a hideout).

Yes and no. I'd totally play a SoA version, but what I'd really love is the original Moria realm and preferably one that includes the later books, Lothlorien and the DN raid. This is the best version of Lotro to me, I enjoyed every day of it (and played almost every day of it as well).

While I still enjoy Moria today, the watered-down and streamlined version we've got now is far from the original. The danger is gone, and it's so linear you can't really go wrong no matter what. The original was brutal, and if unprepared you would have a very hard time even getting to Dolven View. Layouts overall were more confusing and you'd had to explore to find things. I know many disliked it, but I loved it, all of it. :)

Sounds like you're off to a good start then, good with all the special tabs! They're real space savers. :)

Yeah, it can certainly be debated whether chisels at all are worthwhile. I like to think they make a difference in the long run, but I've not done any hard research into it. Like you I only use them on red maps, but even so they vanish really quickly. 400 chisels is good only for 100 maps, which in the endgame of things is nothing, really. Hammers & gavels seem to drop at a slightly higher rate than actual chisels, so you'd at least double your supply if you did the recipe. It is time consuming though, and the big bottleneck for me is usually whetstones and not hammers or maps.

Make sure you read up on all the vendor recipes. Many of them are very valuable for SSF players!

Also, as /u/Xiuetsu correctly points out: you will need all the currency you can get, and then some. Pick stuff up. Not just rares: vendoring uniques is a nice extra source of both alchemy orbs and chance orbs (full set of uniques = 5 chance orbs), and the stone hammer recipe is essential in order to get a decent supply of chisels.

With that last recipe in mind: don't ever vendor whetstones for scrolls, you're going to need every single one you'll find for chisels. Also pick up all trash maps so you can use them for the recipe as well.

You also want as many stash tabs as you can afford. You really can't have too many when going SSF.

Or! You can ignore all of this and bank on the chance that high clearspeed and efficiency is going to provide you with what you need. Personally, I wouldn't count on it, though.

That's how it is, sadly. There is no way to alter the text size, it seems hard-coded into the UI. The 125% scaling you mention does not affect the game in any way (I'm assuming you meant the Windows 10 scaler thing), and the built-in UI scaling in the game options only works with some things. Most notably it doesn't work for text and neither does it scale the tiiiiny inventory bags. :(

My main gaming monitor is a 27" that runs at 2560x1440. If I run Lotro natively it's straining to read the text, so I usually have to lower the resolution to 1920x1080. On a 27" screen. It looks pretty bad, but usable at least.

On my other machine I've got a 43" 4K monitor, and natively it's doable if I sit very close to it but of course that's not practical due to the size. It's playable at 2560x1440, and looks decent but nowhere near as good as 4K does. Bah.

That said, I can well imagine how impossible it would be to run Lotro in 4K on a smaller screen, say 24-27". Fairly sure you wouldn't be able to read anything whatsoever. I also completely understand if you're having problems at 1920x1080 if your screen is below 27" in size. Most native 1080 screens are around 22-25" or so, what's yours?

It certainly doesn't tell the whole story, but should give an indication as to how busy a realm is. Unfortunately it's the only tool we've got. I don't believe we've ever received any official data from Turbine/SSG.

Yeah, as did I! The idea really was to make a card that would be very useful for the early map grind in leagues. Quality gems used to be hard to obtain. And then we got Darkshrine, uber Lab, and.. Yeah. ;)

I got my custom avatar early on (diamond supporter) and that was very easy back then. I emailed back and forth with the artist a few times, and they nailed it on the 3rd attempt or something. I've been pleased with it. :)

Much later I made a divination card (Gemcutter's Promise) and that went straight through on the first attempt. I was very happy with how well that went. Slightly less happy with how easy it later became to get 20% quality gems, but oh well..

I've attempted to complete a design of my unique several times, and we've done some back and forth on potential designs but due to how much the game keeps changing I can never commit to something. I really should finish that some day.. As for the actual process I've had some discussions with several devs and they've been quite helpful, and friendly. Response times are not the best but I understand they're busy so not a biggie.

Captains are awesome, when they're not alone. For solo play, I don't like it to be honest. Could be that I just suck at it.

If you're interested in soloing fellowships and raids, the go-to has been the Warden for quite some time. Very high skill cap, very sturdy when played & geared well, but damage is a bit lacking. But when you're doing well, you're pretty much immortal so who cares if it takes a little longer!
Be warned though: it takes some time getting used to the playstyle of a warden, and it can be quite stressful for some. I think it's either a love or hate thing with this one. It's also quite slow while leveling, though things improve a lot around Moria or so. That might have been changed now though.

I would also look at the Hunter and the Lore-master. Hunter has superb DPS and is really fun to play if you like to run around and dodge stuff. Probably my overall fave class right now.

Lore-master has much lower damage, but has pet companions, lots of crowd control stuff and can feel really satisfying to play. It's also a lot slower, but if you like to plan your battles as opposed to rush right into a pack - the LM might be for you.

All three are great fun I think, all worth exploring in depth.

As for tank classes, I never had much luck with them. Guardians are totally awesome, but slow and like Captains really want to be in a group. Champions as tanks has pretty much never worked, in my opinion. I can unfortunately not speak to the Beorning since I don't have one.

I'd suggest start off with a Hunter and then maybe explore the other options once you get into the game. Since both Warden and Lore-master are kinda slow starters, I think it helps if you're a bit more experienced when you get to them. The Hunter is the exact opposite - it's very fast.

I called the Pentium a "real" Intel because it's a genuine x86 design. The Atom, while mostly compatible, isn't.

Synology seems to use mostly older hardware in all their products. Maybe they're subscribing to the "tried and tested" rule, or they're cutting corners to save money. Either way their products are clearly not worth the money if you only look at the hardware you're getting. I'm looking at it like I'm paying for a mature software environment and good design. For more current hardware I'd take a long hard look at Qnap, who seem to use mostly up-to-date components. I don't like their software though, but that's me. :)

Neither are particularly noisy, but if you want you can very easily replace the stock fans with Noctua fans. I did that on my previous DS1513+ and it became much quieter. I used the Noctua NF-R8 redux-1200 fans. Those fans are outstanding, and cools just as well as the stock fans. Do note that the 1817+ has larger fans (120mm) compared to the 3018xs (92mm) and they're quieter overall. Not a big difference, though.

Your choice of HDDs will most likely be more important - some are fairly quiet while some are very noisy. Quietest drive I've used so far is the WD Red 4TB. If noise is a concern stay away from any Enterprise drives - they tend to sound a bit more. We have WD Red Pro and Gold drives at work and they sound considerably more than my old Reds did. My new Ironwolf 10TB drives at home are a bit noisy too.

The DS3018xs has ECC memory, a faster "real" Intel CPU (Pentium D) and a 5 year warranty as standard. For expansion it uses the larger 12-bay expansion units (DX1215) and you can connect up to two, so 30-bays is the max.

The DS1817+ does not come with ECC and does not support it, uses an Atom CPU and offers 3 year warranty. For expansion you can only use the DX517 5-bay units, giving a max of 18 bays.

Both can use either the SSD cache OR a 10Gbps network card. It's either/or, both have only 1 PCIe slot.

In use the 3018 is noticeably faster I'll say. I have two 3018xs in my home office and we have several 1817+ at work. Both are great units however, I think it's mostly a matter of scale and performance. For me, the ECC memory and the fact that it uses a "real" Intel CPU, the 3018xs felt like the right choice.

Oh, and no XS-series units support the SHR modes, which can be a dealbreaker for some. I usually fill them up with the same size drives when I install them so it's not bothered me. Do take that into account!